An Unusual Pairing Revised
by karkovice
Summary: I broke down my story in to chapter making it easier for you to read. The plot remains the same, though; so if you've read it before, don't expect anything new.
1. Introduction

**AN UNUSUAL PAIRING**

**INTRODUCTION**

From the beginning, I wanted this to be a love story between two longnecks I would eventually come to see as the ideal couple: Little Foot and Ali. Some of you who read this story may view it as a "kissing cousins" type of love affair between them, mostly because of the reference Grandpa Longneck made to Ali's herd in the 4th movie "Journey To The Land Of Mists".

At first, I thought of creating a totally new female longneck character to be Little Foot's love interest; but then I thought that Ali would be a more suitable fit for that role, mostly because of the bond they shared between them in the 4th feature length movie, and in the TV episode "The Brave Longneck Scheme". Also because, in the setting for this story, they are both longnecks holding positions of power. Ali being the Leader of the Land of Mists longnecks, and Little Foot being the Leader of The Great Valley Herd.

I also wanted this story to talk about the unusual, and controvertial, mating of two other characters I see as two peas in a pod: Petrie and Ducky. Why do I see them as the ideal couple? Maybe it's because of their identical size, the fact that they always worry about something, or are scared of something, or are always willing to help their friends in times of peril. In any case, some of you who read this story may say I've crossed the line when it comes to inter species relationships between The Land Before Time characters. This possible opinion is reflected towards the end of the story as the result of all the "trouble" they've caused.

Although I don't see myself as being a particularly romantic person, I thought I did a pretty good job with the love scenes, and the "wedding ceremony". But I'll let you, the readers, be the judge of that!

Finally, I'd like to state that the characters portrayed in this story are copyrighted by Universal Studios and their respective owners and creaters(except for my own ).


	2. Chapter 1 An Unexpected Arrival

**CHAPTER 1**

**AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL**

It was a rather cool day in The Great Valley. There were a lot of white puffies in the sky, but the bright circle was able to peek through from time to time.

It has been two seasons now since that incident where the threehorn Cera had her head sickness episode that nearly cost her life. It was again thanks to Chomper that her life was saved and that she got the help she needed.

Since then, Cera has not had the nightmares and hallucinations involving those long dead sharptooth from The Valley of The Sick, and was able to return to her duties as a medicine threehorn for The Great Valley of Peace. Because of what happened, Little Foot had ordered that more volunteers be trained in the arts of medicine, in case Cera should have a relapse of her head sickness; and that she ended up not being able to continue handling her responsibilities. The first one to volunteer for full training was the threehorn Korkum, who was also her father-by-mating after she became life mates with Wendyk, who was his eldest son. Korkum was already somewhat knowledgeable of flattooth medicine, so Cera didn't need to spend too much time with him in perfecting his knowledge. The next one to volunteer was, surprisingly enough, Ducky! After what she was able to do in The Valley of The Sick, and looking after all of those sick sharpteeth, she felt it was her calling to become a full fledged medicine flattooth. Pretty soon, more volunteers signed up to be trained. With an ever growing population of Great Valley residents requiring some kind of medical care, the more volunteers they got, the better.

The ordeal in The Valley of The Sick, however, came to be known as a new beginning in the relations between the sharptooth and the flattooth. The events of that tumultuous time were already a part of their individual folklores, and songs were already being sung about it. It also turned Little Foot and his gang of friends into living legends on both sides.

Today, however, would be a somewhat special day in The Great Valley. A new Councilor had to be named to replace someone who recently died. Little Foot thought long and hard about his choice. He even talked it over with the candidate to see what they thought about it. Finally, after weighing all the pros and cons of the decision, the individual in question decided to accept the appointment. So the job was theirs, provided the vote in favour of the appointment from the other Councilors would pass. Although Little Foot modified the rules stating that a simple majority, and not a unanimous approval, was sufficient to do something, he still wasn't sure if there will be a majority vote from the existing Councilors. He will only know once the tallies are in, and the population of The Great Valley will have to accept the new Councilor's appointment, whether they liked it or not.

A large crowd had gathered at the Council meeting place, and were anxiously waiting for things to get under way. There was another order of business to be conducted before this all important vote was to take place.

There was something preventing things from getting under way, however; and Little Foot was talking about it with Ducky, who, of all flattooth, would not have missed this important day for the world!

"I don't know. It's not like Chomper to be late." Little Foot told his long time swimmer friend.

"Do you think something bad happened to him?" Ducky asked in a worried tone.

Little Foot sighed. "I hope not... I sent Petrie out to his home to find out what was keeping him. He should be back soon with some news..."

No sooner had he said that that Petrie came swooping down from the sky.

"LITTLE FOOT! LITTLE FOOT!" he exclaimed as he landed in front of the big longneck.

"Report, Petrie?"

"Chomper say he on his way! But there whole herd of longnecks at canyon entrance. Their leader looking to speak to you."

Little Foot looked surprised. "Did you say 'a whole herd of longnecks'?"

Petrie nodded. "Uh huh... They look very anxious to enter valley!"

He eyed Ducky momentarily. "Stay here!" he told both of them as he departed.

A few minutes later, he approached the canyon entrance to The Great Valley. Even from afar, he could see the longnecks gathered at the entrance. He noticed that their leader was female, and that she was talking to Veek and Cyrusk, the two threehorn guards assigned to the entrance. Yet there was something very familiar about the female leader of this herd. A memory from his distant past came to the forefront of his mind. He gasped. "It can't be!" he exclaimed to himself as he quickened his pace to the valley entrance.

As he arrived at the valley entrance, he found he couldn't take his eyes off of the female longneck standing in front of the herd; even when the threehorn Veek tried to get his attention.

"Councilor Lesik!" he began, using his adopted grown up name.

But Little Foot never paid attention to him as he approached the female. "Ali? Is that you!"

The female longneck smiled brightly as her own recognition set in. "Little Foot!" she happily exclaimed.

She surprised her former youngling friend by giggling and giving him an affectionate neck rub. "I never thought I'd ever see you again!"

"S-s-s-same here..." He stammered. He then took a step back to take her in. He found that she had grown into a really fine, strong... and gorgeous... female longneck, worthy of leading a herd. "By the Primal Egg, how long has it been?"

"Too long..." she said.

"And you're Herd Leader now!"

Ali smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"Wow! How did THAT happen!"

"Well, after The Old One died, my mother took over as Herd Leader; and when she died, the job came to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that... about your mother dying, I mean..."

"It's okay. It's been a few seasons now." She said as he eyes turned to the ground.

"Oh... S-s-s-so what brings you here?"

Veek cleared his throat. "That's what I wanted to tell you, my Leader. This fine female longneck and her herd were hoping to find sanctuary in The Great Valley..."

"Yeah! Then imagine my surprise when these two _threehorns_ here said we had to wait for 'processing' before we could enter the valley!" the male longneck nearest to her exclaimed in frustration. "How long do we have to STAND out here, Matriarch! We're vulnerable to sharptooth attacks!"

"Be patient, Vernonk! I'm sure they have good reason for letting us in slowly..." Ali told the male longneck.

"BAAAH!" Vernonk scoffed.

Then she turned to face Little Foot. "You must forgive him. He's the Head of our Protective Forces. He's always concerned about our safety, as well as that of our children..."

"And that's putting it _lightly!"_ Vernonk enforced.

"I have to admit, though..." Ali continued. "That we were quite surprised when we were stopped here at the entrance... I assume you have good reason for applying such measures?"

Little Foot nodded. "It was necessary. A lot of flattooth of all kinds were coming in looking to find shelter in The Great Valley. Because I didn't want them coming in too fast, this 'processing' method allowed us to maintain better control of the comings and goings of everyone. Sign o' the times, I guess." he shrugged.

Ali nodded. "I can understand that..."

"So... how long are you going to be here for?" Little Foot then asked her.

She got a bit of a pleading look on her facial feature. "Actually, we were hoping to become permanent residents of The Great Valley..."

Little Foot's eyes went wide in surprise. "Why!"

Ali looked down in sadness. "Things have changed, Little Foot. The outside world is different. The land that was our home has been inundated with sky water, and our cold time migratory home has turned into a desert. We literally have no other place to go. There's nowhere else we can survive. What you see here is what's left of The Great Longneck Herd of The Land of Mists." she said as she gazed back towards her anxious herd.

"Yeah! So are you gonna let us into your valley or not!" Vernonk pressed.

But before Little Foot could answer, cries of "SHARPTOOTH!" arose from the back of the herd.

Vernonk groaned in frustration. "I WARNED you about this, Matriarch! FORM THE DEFENCE PERIMETER! MAKE SURE ALL OF THE CHILDREN ARE IN THE CENTER!" He shouted in order towards the back of the herd.

Cries and gasps could be heard as everybody scrambled into action.

"Wait, Vernonk!" Little Foot exclaimed. "CHOMPER! IS THAT YOU BACK THERE!" he shouted towards the back of the herd.

"Yes!" came a familiar voice. "Who are all these longnecks!"

As soon as Chomper opened his mouth to speak, several mutters pointing out the fact that he can speak flattooth erupted from the longnecks in the herd.

"OLD FRIENDS!" Little Foot shouted back.

"Is there any way I can get through!"

"HOLD ON!" Then he turned his attention to his younghood friend. "Ali, tell your herd to let Chomper pass..."

Allie was surprised at Little Foot's request, which made her hesitate.

"I'll explain everything! Trust me!" Little Foot said, noticing her apprehension.

Ali nodded. "Everyone! Let the sharptooth pass! He's a friend of Little Foot's!"

"Matriarch, are you sure that's wise!" Vernonk protested.

"If Little Foot says we can trust him on this, then I trust him..."

Vernonk sighed. "Do as the Matriarch says!" He then ordered.

_This male would surely get along with Topsy, if he were still alive. _Little Foot thought to himself.

Through some light muttering, the longnecks eventually cleared a narrow path for Chomper.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed as he made his way to the front of the line. "Excuse me... pardon me... sharptooth comin' through!" he was heard saying as he wound his way up.

"OOW! That's my tail!" a youngling longneck exclaimed after he got stepped on.

"Sorry." Chomper apologized.

Although the canyon was wide enough for one longneck to walk through comfortably, they were squeezed in so tight that they could only make a path just large enough for him to pass.

"WHOO... It's a _jungle _out there!" Chomper exclaimed after he squeezed through the last two longnecks barring his way.

Little Foot saw he was wearing his long fanged sharptooth headress, as usual, as well as the Foreign Ambassador's staff he always carried around with him.

"Sorry I'm late, Little Foot; but I was helping Roary fashion his long fanged sharptooth headress this morning."

"Oh? Did he finally catch his own long fanged sharptooth?"

Chomper smiled and nodded. "He did!"

"That's _great!"_ Little Foot exclaimed. "He's told me often enough how he was looking forward to catching a long fanged sharptooth like you did those few seasons ago!"

"And now, we'll be a matched set!" Chomper beamed. "Of course, it'll be another couple of days before he'll actually get to wear it."

Little Foot nodded. "Oh, yeah... You have to let that dry for a couple of days, don't you? OH! Chomper, I'd like you to meet Ali, who's the leader of the longnecks you see here." he then said, remembering his manners.

Chomper nodded to the female longneck as he tipped his headress. "Ma'am?"

"Chomper's the sharptooth Foreign Ambassador to The Great Valley. He was appointed here after we cured the Bloody Tummy crisis..."

"Yes, I've heard about that..." Ali said as she eyed the sharptooth bone necklace Little Foot was wearing. "I figured as much..." she said as she then eyed Chomper. "But I never thought I'd meet a sharptooth who could speak our language..."

"Well, I'm a rather _unique_ sharptooth, ma'am!" Chomper smiled. "I'll tell you all about it later."

"And these longnecks are The Herd of The Land Of Mists." Little Foot said as he gestured towards the assembled longnecks.

"Ah, yes! I've heard of them." Chomper nodded. "They're a migratory herd, if I'm not mistaken. So how long are they gonna be staying here for?"

"Actually, they're looking to become permanent residents of The Great Valley."

"Really? Well, I guess that's a good thing. The valley could use some new longneck blood."

Everyone near Chomper looked nervous. They weren't exactly sure what to make of what the sharptooth standing before him just said, but Little Foot knew what he was talking about.

Chomper noticed that the male longneck standing next to Ali was glaring at him. "Let me make one thing clear to you, _sharptooth!_ I don't care if you can speak our language, if I catch you messing with anyone from MY herd, you're gonna be in for a _hard time!_ Especially from _me..._"

Ali just glared back at him without saying a word.

"I'll keep that in mind... Thanks for the warning..." Chomper said, flashing a pointy teethed smile.

"Anyway, where are V'Leck and Roary this morning?"

"Oh! They said they'd come later..."

Little Foot nodded. "Well, we'd better get down to the Council meeting place. Everybody's waiting for us... Veek? Process them into the waiting area until we can find more permanent homes for them."

"Yes, my Leader."

"And Ali? Once you and your herd are settled in, come down to the Council meeting. There's an important ceremony that's gonna take place there later on, and I think it's important that you attend..."

"Oh.. Okay... Sure!"

"See you later! C'mon, Chomper."

With that, they departed, leaving Veek and Cyrusk to do their job of processing Allie and her herd into The Great Valley.

"Who's the _grumpy _one?" Chomper whispered to Little Foot as they left.

"Oh! That's Vernonk. Apparently, he's their head of security."

"Nice!" Chomper said in a sarcastic tone.


	3. Chapter 2 Order Of Business

**CHAPTER 2**

**ORDER OF BUSINESS**

A few minutes later, they both arrived at the Council meeting place. Little Foot assumed his post on the speaking rock while Chomper stood a few feet away, like he always did.

"OKAY!" he exclaimed to bring the meeting to order. "Now that everyone is here, we can finally get things under way. The first order of business today is the land dispute between the longneck Flanders' family and the threehorn Douthwright's family. Mr. Douthwright and his family have brought their grievances over to our threehorn Councilor Cyrook. Cyrook, you have the floor."

"Thank you, Council Leader." Cyrook said as he came forward. He was a medium sized threehorn who looked almost like the late Councilor Topsy. Only difference was he had a little bit lighter shade of grey, and he didn't have the dark circles around his eyes. Also, his temper wasn't as short, and wasn't as quick to judge or belittle others who were not of his race.

"Basically, Council Leader..." he began as he cleared his throat. "The Douthwrights claim that they were not alloted enough grazing lands when their Great Valley home was assigned to them. They feel that their neighbours, the longneck Flanders' family, were given more land than what is really needed..."

"That's _right!_" Douthwright said from his place in the audience. "How am I supposed to ensure my growing family has enough to eat with what little scrap of land we were given!"

"MR. DOUTHWRIGHT!" Cyrook exclaimed as he glared at him. "I'M the one who's representing you in this matter, and it's CUSTOMARY for you to remain SILENT during the proceedings!"

The male threehorn simply sat back down in his place on the grass in frustration, and didn't say anything more. Little Foot waited until all of the muttering died down before asking the threehorn Councilor to continue.

"In a nutshell, they're asking that a reevaluation of the land they were alloted be undertaken immediately, and that a more equal redistribution of said land take place between the two families."

Little Foot nodded. "The request has been duely noted. I now ask my longneck colleague, Zakim, if the Flanders family had anything to say about this claim..."

The longneck Councilor stepped forward and bowed. "My leader, they wish to state, for the record, that the land they were alloted is just barely enough to sustain them; and that a further shrinking of their assigned territory would be unjustified..."

The threehorn male could be heard muttering and cursing in frustration. He was immediately shushed by the threehorn Councilor.

Little Foot nodded again. "All right. Both views concerning this dispute have been duely heard and noted. I now put it to a Council vote. All those in favour of the reevaluation of the land allotments between both families will say 'aye'; and all those in favour of maintaining the status quo will say 'nay'. We will begin with spiketail Councilor Rorak." he said as he turned towards the elder spiketail in question.

The two spiketail members of the Council represented the interests of not only the spiktails, but the clubtails, and all related species, of The Great Valley.

"My leader." He said as he stepped forward. "Knowing full well the nutritional and territorial needs of the threehorns, I cast my vote of 'aye' in favour of a redistribution of the land." He then retreated back to his place in the Council circle.

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted. Councilor Beelak, it's your turn." he said as he turned to the other spiketail Councilor. There are usually always two members of the same species on The Great Valley Council.

"My leader? I concur with my colleague in this matter, and cast my vote of 'aye' in turn."

Little Foot nodded again. "Duely noted. I now turn to the swimmer Councilor Flord for the next vote."

He cleared his throat as he stepped forward. "Having lived in close proximity with longnecks most of my life, and knowing full well their need for space, I cast my vote of 'nay' in favour of maintaining the status quo." The swimmers on the Council represented not only the interests of their own kind, but all similar swimmer and land based species.

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted. I now turn to your colleague, Councilor Milak."

The smaller and younger swimmer stepped forward. "I have to concur with colleague and cast my vote of 'nay' as well."

Little Foot nodded. "All right. That's 2 votes for 'aye', and 2 votes for 'nay'. I now turn to the first Councilor for the flyers, Larrik."

"Well, my leader?" the flyer began as he stepped forward. "Having studied this case carefully, and after weighing all the pros and cons regarding the threehorns' request, I find that the current allotments are more than sufficient for both sides; so I vote 'nay' in favour of keeping everything the way it is."

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted. Thank you, Councilor."

The elder flyer bowed and retreated back to his place in the circle.

"I now ask your colleague, Councilor Derak, to come forward and cast his vote."

The younger flyer came forward and bowed. "Well, Councilor, unlike my elder flyer colleague, I have come to know this threehorn family personally. My youngest son is a playmate of Mr. Douthwright's two children, and I've often heard him say how 'ridiculous' his granted territorial allotment was, and that he needed to be granted more land area. The very same land currently owned by the longnecks that are his neighbours. Therefore, I have to cast my vote of 'aye' in favour of the reevaluation."

A few mutters arose from the crowd due to the unexpected division of the flyer vote. Councilor Soames' eyes went wide in surprise at his younger colleague's opposition.

Little Foot nodded. "You vote has been noted, Councilor Derak."

Derak bowed and returned to his place in the circle. Larrik glared at him in anger. Derak simply shrugged.

"The vote now stands at 3 for 'aye' and 3 for 'nay'. And now, in light of the threehorn Councilor Reejak's recent passing, we shall make the final tally based on 9 votes instead of the usual 10." _SOMEBODY was insured of getting a majority vote today._ Little Foot thought in the back of his mind. "Councilor Cyrook, it's your turn."

"Thank you, Council Leader." he said as he stepped forward. "Of course, having personally been given this case, and having a vested interest in the satisfaction and well being of all threehorns residing in The Great Valley, I am compelled to vote 'aye' in favour of the reevaluation."

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted, Councilor Cyrook. Thank you."

Cyrook bowed as stepped back into his spot in the circle.

"So that makes it 4 votes in favour of the reevaluation, and 3 in favour of maintaining the status quo. I now turn to my colleague, and fellow longneck, Councilor Zakim."

"Thank you, Councilor Lesik." he said as he stepped forward. Zakim was a little younger than Little Foot, slightly smaller, but of the same hyde colour. Having only been residing in The Great Valley for a few seasons, he knew Little Foot by his adopted grown up name "Lesik", though he was aware that his closest friends still called him by his youngling nickname.

"Well, representing the Flanders in this dispute, and sympathizing with their desire to maintain everything the way it is, I have to vote 'nay' in this matter."

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted."

The longneck bowed and went back to his place in the circle.

"So, it has come down to me. It seems that I will be the deciding factor." He sighed. "I must state, for the record, that the vote I will cast will not be an easy one. The vote I cast is simply not because I will be siding in favour of the longnecks, or the threehorns. The vote I cast will be because I feel that it is in the best interests of everyone involved." He stayed silent for a few moments, everyone waited with baited breath at what Little Foot, the Leader of The Great Valley flattooth, will decide. "In light of all this, I cast my vote of 'NAY' in favour of maintaining the status quo!"

The crowd then began to mutter quite loudly as the final tally was 5 in favour of leaving the land concessions the way it is, and 4 in favour of the redistribution of the lands.

"This is OUTRAGEOUS!" the Douthwright patriarch exclaimed. "This Great Valley Council of yours is a JOKE! YOU CALL THIS JUSTICE! I call it a SHAM!"

"MR. DOUTHWRIGHT!" The threehorn Councilor growled at him.

Little Foot intervened. "Everything was done according to our laws and traditions, Mr. Douthwright! If you do not agree with the decision, you're more than welcome to lodge an appeal with Councilor Cyrook, and another vote will take place at a later time."

"WHAT'S THE USE! You're gonna side in favour of the LONGNECKS again, anyways! I'm taking my business ELSEWHERE!" he said as he stormed off dragging his family behind him.

Little Foot sighed as he lowered his head and shook it.

"Wow! Tough break!" Chomper commented as he got beside Little Foot and stroked his huge neck.

"Whoever said being Council Leader was an easy job has obviously never BEEN a Council Leader."

Chomper nodded sadly. "I'm sure Chief Berserker had to make equally tough decisions many times."

Little Foot nodded sadly. "I'm sure he did."

"Why don't you take a break? Calm down." Chomper suggested as he patted his best friend's neck again.

"Agreed." Then he raised his head. "Everyone! I'd like to call a brief recess before we move on to our next order of business!" and he walked off the speaking rock.

* * *

A short time later, Little Foot brought the meeting out of recess and back to order.

By this time, Ali had come down to the Council meeting place. Little Foot indicated a place to stand to his right and observe the proceedings. V'Leck and Roary, Chomper's mate and son respectively, also arrived and went to take their usual place in the watching crowd.

"Everyone! Now that the meeting has been called to order again, we can now proceed with the second part of our agenda today. And we are fortunate to have in attendance for this portion of our Council meeting Miss Ali..." He said as he indicated the female longneck. "The current leader of the Longneck Herd of The Land of Mists. Let us extend our usual warm welcome and hospitality to her and them."

A lot of the gathered crowd gasped and exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and joy. Some even applauded as she was announced. Allie smiled and bowed and mouthed a "thank you".

"Our second order of business today is naming the new threehorn Councilor to replace the late Reejak, who died two days ago today."

All of his attending family bowed their heads in sad silence. His funeral was already held at The Mourning Abyss, but it will be awhile longer before things get back to normal with his surviving family and next of kin.

Little Foot sighed. "The choice I made was not an easy one. It will even be _controvertial_ to a lot of flattooth gathered here today, but I could think of no one better qualified to take on the responsibilities of the job. Ever since the time of my grandfather, The Great Valley Grand Council has stood for a symbol of progress. He made many changes to how things were done, and how decisions were made. I have kept and continued that tradition, and will continue to do so in the future. Today is no different than any other day for making a change."

By now, many flattooth were muttering amongst themselves, wondering where this was going. "In light of all this, it is with great pride and joy that I name the next candidate to succeed the late Councilor Reejak. None other than our own leading medicine threehorn: Cera!"

Many gasps erupted from the crowd, and quite a few looks of shock could also be seen, as Cera gulpred and stepped forward onto the floor, her sharptooth bone necklace making the usual jingling and jangling sound.

From her place in the crowd, Ducky could be heard exclaiming. "Go, Cera! WHOOOOO!"

Chomper smiled slowly while Ali looked quite surprised by Little Foot's choice for the new threehorn Councilor.

As soon as the muttering in the crowd died down, a voice could be heard. "Wait a minute! WAIT A MINUTE! What is this! How can you name a _female_ to serve on the Council! By tradition, the job has ALWAYS gone to a male!" that voice was that of a male middle aged threehorn, who had moved to The Great Valley a few seasons ago.

Cera didn't hesitate to confront him. "For your information, this _female_ is just as capable as any _male_ threehorn to do this job; and you'll have no choice but to _accept_ that fact!"

The male threehorn gasped in shock. "How DARE you!"

Cera sneered at the pompeous male. "Because I CAN and I HAVE, so either PUT UP or SHUT UP!"

"You go girl!" some unknown female in the crowd exclaimed.

"You tellw him, Auntie Cewa!" Roary exclaimed with a smile.

_Roary's getting better at speaking flattooth every day!_ Little Foot thought to himself as he smiled.

When the noise finally died down, Little Foot spoke again. "What Cera has said is absolutely correct. A female can be just as capable as a male in leading a bunch of flattooth. Case in point: Look at Ali over here! She's a female, and she's the leader of The Longneck Herd of The Land Of Mists; as was her mother before her, and as was The Old One before_ her."_

"Leading a couple hundred longnecks is fine, but that's _nothing_ compared to the several _thousand_ threehorns living in The Great Valley. It's a big responsibility! Have you ever stopped to think that what you're doing here goes against what has been Grand Council tradition for _generations!_"

Some muttering erupted from the crowd. Most agreed with what the male threehorn was saying, but a few thought that he was talking nonsense.

Little Foot nodded to the threehorn. "Yes, I HAVE thought of that, in fact. The idea that Cera would represent all of the threehorns in The Great Valley, in The Mysterious Beyond... maybe even possibly the WORLD... and the responsibilities therein... weighed heavily on my conscience. But having known Cera all of my life, and knowing her natural talents in leadership, I felt the time was right to give her this important job. And after numerous conversations with her, she's finally accepted the nomination."

The crowd started muttering again about the fact the Little Foot was right when he said that Cera ripe for the job. With everything she had accomplished throughout her life, she was practically seen as a venerated elder; although she still had a few seasons to go before she'd even be considered as "elderly".

"But NOW, the Council has to vote on whether to approve or reject Cera as the new threehorn Councilor. I know some of you may not agree with the choice I've made, but I urge you to think and vote carefully in this matter."

Little Foot let this all sink in for a few moments. More light mutterings emerged from the crowd. In the past, there _have_ been Council members who have voted against a replacement's appointment. Before Little Foot instituted the simple majority change, one vote against was all it took for a candidate to be rejected; but if there were more votes against than there are for, Little Foot will have no choice but to refuse Cera's appointment, and the threehorn Councilor position will remain vacant until a new candidate could be named and approved.

"I'll begin the voting process with the spiketail Councilor Rorak. Councilor? You have the floor."

The elder spiketail cleared his throat as he stepped forward. "Well, Councilor Lesik, in keeping with the long standing tradition of this Council, I vote 'nay' in the appointment of Cera as the new threehorn Councilor." He then bowed as he resumed his place in the Council circle.

Little Foot nodded. "Your objection has been duely noted. I now move to the other spiketail Councilor, Beelak. Councilor?"

The younger spiketail stepped forward. "Well, Councilor, I'm of the opinion that a little change will do a lot of good to this Council; so I vote 'aye' in favour of appointing this fine female threehorn as the new Councilor."

Many mutters of surprise erupted in the crowd at the division of the spiketail vote.

Little Foot nodded to the spiketail. "Your approval of the new appointment has been duely noted."

The spiketail bowed as he retreated back to his place in the circle.

"I now move to the swimmers. First, Senior Councilor Flord."

The elder swimmer stepped forward. "Well, Lesik, having been close friends with her friend Ducky's mother when she was still alive, and having known her and her father for many seasons, AND knowing full well how diligent she will be in this job, I cast my vote of 'aye' in favour of her approval."

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted." The elder swimmer bowed as he retreated back into the circle.

"I now turn to the Junior swimmer Councilor, Milak."

He stepped forward. "I concur with my colleague in this matter, so I vote 'aye' as well."

He immediately retreated. Meanwhile, Cera was visibly nervous at the outcome of this vote, while Ducky had her fingers crossed on both of her hands.

Little Foot nodded to the Junior swimmer Councilor. "Duely noted. Thank you. I now turn to the elder flyer, Councilor Larrik."

He came forward. "Well, in keeping with tradition, I vote 'nay' against the appointment of the female threehorn." He immediately retreated back into the circle.

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted. And now, the Junior flyer Councilor, Derak."

After coming forward, the younger flyer said. "I must concur with my colleague in this matter and vote 'nay'."

Little Foot nodded. "Duely noted. So that's 3 votes for, and 3 votes against. I now turn to my distinguished colleague, and fellow longneck, Zakim."

The longneck stepped forward. "Well, Council Leader, let me say, for the record, that I admire you and respect you as not only the Leader of The Grand Council, but as the Leader of the entire Great Valley, as well. But I am compelled to go against you on this as I stick to tradition and vote 'nay' against the appointment of your female friend as new threehorn Councilor."

Little Foot sighed inwardly as he nodded. "Duely noted, Councilor. Thank you."

Councilor Long nodded and retreated back to his place in the circle.

"So the vote now stands as 4 votes against the appointment, and 3 for the appointment. I now turn to the threehorn Councilor, Cyrook."

He cleared his throat as he stepped forward. "Thank you, my leader." He breathed once to calm himself before he continued. "Well, ladies and gentledinos, knowing full well of Miss Cera's accomplishments over the seasons, and everything she has done for all of us in The Great Valley, and all flattooth everywhere; and because I feel strongly that she will be a great asset to our Council, as well as being a big help to me, I cast my vote of 'aye' in favour of her approval as my fellow Councilor and colleague."

The crowd began to mutter as a lot of them began to leave, knowing full well that Little Foot will cast the vote that will approve Cera's appointment to the Council. Many were angry at this controvertial occurence, but many others saw it as a landmark decision that will bring about a positive change that will benefit everyone in The Great Valley. Ducky cried out "YAHOOOO!" and jumped for joy knowing full well that it was in the bag now.

"Duely noted! Thank you, Councilor Cyrook." Little Foot said.

The male threehorn nodded as he returned to his place in the circle.

Little Foot sighed before he continued. "Well, it seems it's down to me again. It is up to me to make or break this new appointment. Let me say, for the record, that as I cast my vote of 'aye' to approve Cera's appointment to our Grand Council, I feel that this will bring about a change for the better for all of us, and that this will hopefully encourage other female flattooth to join our ranks in the near future."

Many that remained muttered as they nodded their heads. Some even applauded Little Foot's few words describing what he saw as a bright future for all female residing in The Great Valley. Allie even seemed quite pleased at what transpired here today. But no one was more pleased than Wendyk, her life mate, who had been silently watching the proceedings in the crowd.

"Cera, will you please come forward." Little Foot then said as he motioned her to stand before the speaking rock.

"Raise your right paw and repeat after me..."

Cera did as Little Foot asked.

"I, Cera..."

"I, Cera..."

"Do solemnly swear..."

"Do solemnly swear..."

"To abide by the laws, rules and regulations that govern my post..."

"To abide by the laws, rules and... regulations that govern my post..."

"As Grand Councilor of The Grand Flattooth Council of The Great Valley."

"As Grand Councilor of The Grand Flattooth Council of The Great Valley."

"By The Primal Egg, this I vow."

"By The Primal Egg, this I vow."

Most of the remaining observers applauded as Little Foot bent down to allow Cera to hug him. "Congratulations!" he happily told her.

When the applause and sporadic cheering died down, Little Foot spoke again. "I now invite our newly appointed Grand Councilor to come up onto the speaking rock to say a few words..."

More applause resounded as Cera came up to take her place on the speaking rock.

She cleared her throat. "Thank you." she said as the applause died down. "Ladies and gentledinos, I would like to thank all those of you who supported me and encouraged me as I went through this period of uncertainty. But it was mostly thanks to Lesik here, whom I still call 'Little Foot' often enough, that I was convinced to take on this job where I will be in a unique situation to bring about a positive change for all flattooth in The Great Valley. And I..." she was interrupted by a smattering to applause from a lot of those still assembled.

"And I know that a lot of you do not agree with me taking on this assignment I was granted. I can surely understand that, but I sincerely hope that we can still work together in resolving whatever issues you may have that requires my intervention.

"And to you members of the Council who voted against me here today, I also hope that me being the first female Councilor _ever _will not deter you from working with me in governing The Great Valley, and voting to install positive action for all of its residents. But I promise you..." she was again interrupted by some more applauding.

"But I promise you that I will represent the interests of all threehorns residing in The Great Valley to the best of my abilities. You can count on that, and you can count on ME! Thank you very much for your support."

More applause resounded as she stepped down off of the speaking rock. Then she went to take her place beside Councilor Cyrook in the Councilor's circle, her bone necklace making the usual jingling and jangling noises. Councilor Cyrook gave her a small threehorn congratulatory embrace.

When the applause finally died down, Little Foot spoke again from the speaking rock. "And with that, I hereby state that this meeting of The Grand Flattooth Council of The Great Valley is adjourned!"

More applause came forward.

"I just wanna make a small announcement before everybody leaves. For those of you who are interested, there will be a small celebration this evening not only in honour of Cera's recent appointment to our Council, but also in honour of the return of Allie's longneck herd of The Land of Mists. Bring yourselves... and your own food. That's all!"

With that, everybody went about their own business.

As Chomper went to greet his family, who were standing next to Wendyk and his own family, his younger sister, Trinity, approached Roary.

"Hey, Roary! Wanna go play Swimmer and Splasher?"

"Okay... Surwe!" Roary happily nodded.

"Come on!" Trinity said as they ran to join a group of her friends.

"Don't be late for dinner tonight, you two!" Chomper called out to him.

"We won't!" Roary called back.

He gave Cera his own big congratulatory hug as she came to join them, then everybody went about to prepare for tonight's celebration.


	4. Chapter 3 Small Gathering

**CHAPTER 3**

**SMALL GATHERING**

That evening, there were a few Great Valley residents who came to the celebration; but a large number of residents were conspicuous by their absence. Little Foot figured that the day's events were a lot to take in for a lot of them. He had to make two controvertial decisions that not everybody agreed on, and he had to render the deciding vote in each case to award Council approval. He figured they just needed more time to adjust to the changes he instigated today.

Most everybody who came were there to greet the newly arrived longnecks from The Land of Mists, and completely ignored Cera, yet she _did_ receive a few congratulations from those who've known her for awhile and who bothered to show up. They wished her good luck in her newly assigned duties and responsibilities. She gained comfort from the fact that her closest friends and her family-by-mating were there with her. _Change takes time,_ she thought to herself as she sighed inwardly.

While the flattooth had their usual fare, Chomper and his family had a mixture of fish, worms, grubs and leftover threehorn meat from Councilor Reejak's body that V'Leck had saved. While all of the flattooth sat away from the sharptooth, Little Foot and his friends sat in a circle around Chomper's family. Little Foot encouraged Ali to come sit with him and his friends. Though she happily obliged, Little Foot saw she was visibly nervous around the sharptooth. He also noticed that while he and his friends had all gotten used to the sharptooths' eating habits, Ali had a little bit of difficulty swallowing her own green food as she watched them tear into their "meat salad".

Roary demonstrated his flattooth speaking to everyone assembled, who congratulated and/or applauded him whenever he got a complicated word, phrase or sentence down right. He now understood flattooth perfectly well, and didn't need Chomper, his father, to translate for him. V'Leck, however, still struggled with the language. Though she was able to understand most of it now, she still had to ask Chomper, her mate, for a sharptooth translation every once in a while. And whenever she spoke, Chomper had to translate in flattooth. He had tried to teach her the language, but she still had difficulty in learning to speak it. About all she could say was "hello", and it came out sounding like "Ahllo", or sometimes "ello".

During the meal, Chomper told Ali his story of how he was found by the young Little Foot when he was an egg, and how he was hatched by him in The Great Valley. Because if this, he was able to learn the flattooth language; and learn of their ways and behaviours. He also told Ali how had to leave The Great Valley after his parents came to get him; but that he unexpectedly met up with him and his friends a few seasons later when they became trapped on what was then his family's island home. He also told her how he was able to look after them while they were trapped and convince his parents that they were actually his friends; and that they, in turn, saved their lives from another sharptooth who was also on the island.

All this was confirmed by Little Foot when she asked him if was true. Ali was quite amazed by the story, and finally understood at how Chomper was a really _unique_ sharptooth.

After the meal, there was some more storytelling and singing from the lot of them. Though Chomper enjoyed himself, he often noticed how the longneck Vernonk, lying not far from he and his group, was always watching him. He always glared at Chomper whenever he caught him looking his way. _He's probably the kind of longneck who would not let my kid play with HIS kids, assuming he has any. He would also constantly look down upon me, no matter how much I try to convince him that I'm not a threat to his family! _Chomper thought to himself as he sighed inwardly.

Eventually, everybody decided that it was late enough to head home, parted and went their own ways.


	5. Chapter 4 Father To Son

**CHAPTER 4**

**FATHER TO SON**

During the walk home to their cave dwelling, Chomper decided to broach the subject he had been wanting to discuss with his son for a little while now.

"_Roary?" _he asked his son in his native sharptooth.

"_Yeah, dad?"_

"_Your mother and I have been recently talking about possibly having another baby. What do YOU think about that?"_

Roary stayed silent for few moment as he let what his father just told him sink in. _"Another baby?"_ he said to his father.

"_Yeah... How would you feel, if we gave you a brother or sister?"_

Roary thought about that for a bit. _"Gee! I don't know, dad. Mom always said I was a handful to take care of growing up. You sure you both wanna go through that again?"_

Chomper sighed. _"That's just it. We don't know what it would be like. Not like your mom__, anyways__. I wasn't always there, when you were younger, but she was; so she knows more about what's in store than I do. We haven't decided yet if we were going to go through with it or not, but I think she'll have final say about it."_ he said as he gazed at his life mate, walking just a few feet away in front of them.

After a few moments of silence, Roary spoke up. _"Well... I just want you to know, dad, that if you and mom DID decide to have another baby, I'll try and be the best big brother I can be to the little ankle biter!" _He smiled up at his father.

Chomper smiled back down at his son. _"Glad to hear it!"_ he said as he ruffled his son's head.

"_DAAAAD! Stop that!"_ Roary exclaimed as he batted his hand away. _"I'm not a kid anymore!" _

It was true! Roary was not! He was now only a few feet shorter than Chomper, and was already too heavy to be carried around by him or V'Leck. He remembered how he used to be able to pick him up with ease and swing him around up over his own head, like many sharptooth fathers did with their own sons. He also remembered how Roary used to giggle and cry out in joy as he stretched his arms out, pretending he was a flyer. Indeed, Roary was growing up, and growing up fast! Chomper felt nostalgic for those long gone days!

"_You're right, Roary! You're NOT a kid anymore! Matter of fact, you're almost at that age where your fancy may turn to wanting to be with a special female sharptooth."_

Roary snapped his head up to his father in surprise.

Chomper rumbled a laugh. _"I know what you're thinking: There aren't many sharptooth females in The Great Valley, but there might be some in The Mysterious Beyond you'll want to be with someday."_

"_But I have a few flattooth female friends. Especially the threehorn Trinity. She's so nice!"_

Chomper nodded. _"Of course, having female flattooth friends is always great. But when it comes to that very special female 'sharptooth' friend, you should treat her with the utmost respect. You shouldn't try to make her like you, or make her be your life mate. If she really likes you, and wants you to be her life mate, she'll let you know."_

He patted Roary on the back. _"But you don't need to worry about that now. You're still young. You'll know when the moment is right. Just don't rush things!"_

"_Okay, dad."_

They continued on in silence until they reached their cave dwelling. V'Leck didn't waste time in settling down into her sleeping area for the night, as she was very tired.

"_G'night, dad!" _Roary said as he gave him a small hug.

"_'night, Roary!"_

"_G'night, mom!" _Roary said to his mother as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"_Good night, sweetie!" _she replied back as he moved off to his sleeping area a little bit further into the cave.

Chomper settled down in his own sleeping area that he shared with his life mate, located behind her, then wrapped his arms around her waist, like he always does, and gave her a kiss on the back of her head.

"_I heard a bit about what you and Roary were talking about. That was sound advice you gave him, about his future life mate. Of course, we can't make that decision for him. He'll have to decide about that on his own."_

Chomper simply gave a tired "hmmm" in response.

"_And when it comes to us having another child? I still don't know. Right now, I think we're doing just fine as a family, just the three of us. I don't think bringing in another life in this world would be a good thing to do, at this stage in our lives..."_

Chomper smiled at her. _"That's fine by me!" _he said as he kissed her again and gave her a little love bite at the back of her neck.

V'Leck let out a small yelp and giggled as she let Chomper cuddle her. They both fell alseep in each other's embrace a few minutes later.


	6. Chapter 5 Confessions

**CHAPTER 5**

**CONFESSIONS**

A few days later, Little Foot and Ali were in a forested area of The Great Valley. She was examining a rather large cave. Large enough to hold even the largest long neck that ever lived! He and others had worked long and hard trying to assign permanent living areas for all of Ali's longneck herd. He had found this large cave, learned that it was not claimed by anybody, and set it aside for Ali. Everybody else was already assigned their living areas, except for Ali. He had saved the best for last especially for her!

He was standing outside the cave entrance while Ali went inside to take a look around. He was looking rather anxious. He was hoping that Ali would like the cave he had picked for her.

Then she finally emerged, smiling brightly. "It's _perfect, _Little Foot!"

"Y... you really like it?"

"Yes! The ceiling's a bit low, but I think I can manage..."

"Too low? O... o-okay! Y...y-you can stay here temporarily, then, while I look for a cave that's got a higher ceiling for you..."

Ali giggled. "No! It's fine. I love it!"

"Really?"

"Really!" she smiled.

Little Foot sighed inwardly in relief. "Good! _Great,_ even! I wasn't sure if you'd like it... I mean... being the leader of a longneck herd, you deserve nothing but the best..."

"That's sweet!" she said as she smiled at him.

Little Foot seemed to be hypnotized by her smile for a few moments. In his eyes, her smile only made her more beautiful to him; and he sensed unusual feelings within him, unlike anything he ever felt before.

"Uuuuhhh... Speaking of 'sweets'..." He said as he caught himself. "If we're done here, I know a place where we can get some really good sweet bubbles... Whatdya say?"

Ali giggled again. "I say 'lead the way'! It's been awhile since I had any sweet bubbles..."

"Well, then, you're in for a treat!" he joyfully said as he led her away.

A short time later, they arrived at the place where Little Foot knew the best sweet bubbles in The Great Valley could be found. He figured it was the preferred food of clubtails, as he often noticed that there were a lot of clubtails among the bushes of this area. Today, however, none could be seen. In fact, he and Ali were the only two Great Valley residents around, which was what he had hoped for.

They picked the best bunches they could find, brought them over to a clearing, settled down and ate in a sort of improvised picnic.

"How are they?" Little Foot asked.

"Mmm! Very sweet!" Ali answered as she swallowed the bunch she was chewing on.

"Wait 'til our next big freeze! Frozen sweet bubbles taste even _better!_"

"I can't wait! I've never experienced a big freeze before!"

"You won't have to wait long..." he said as he felt the slight chill in the breeze, announcing an impending season change.

After a few moments, Little Foot broached the subject he wanted to talk to Allie alone about.

"Uhh... Ali? Listen, I... uuuuhhh..."

"Wait!" Ali interrupted, which surprised Little Foot. "I'm no fool. I know exactly what's going on here, and why you brought me here in the first place."

Little Foot was speechless for a few moments. "Y... you do?" he said when he finally found his voice.

Ali nodded. "I see the look in your eyes, whenever I'm around you. It's the same look I've noticed with every other male longneck who's around me... You obviously find me very attractive, and can't seem to take your eyes off of me..."

Little Foot was in open mouthed shock. He just had time to utter "uuuuhhh..." when Ali continued her little improvised speech.

"And I admit that I felt the same way about certain male longnecks I've come into contact with... But as Herd Leader, I knew I had to keep a certain distance... I mean... I couldn't readily become mates with a male longneck whom I had to lead, and who saw me as their Matriarch... That would've complicated things..."

Then she got a sad look. "But that made things a bit lonely for me... True male companionship was always forbidden to me, when it comes to members of my herd." Then she turned her sad look towards Little Foot. "I guess it's true what they say: It's lonely at the top!"

Little Foot felt inwardly sad and sorry for Ali. He tried his best not to show it, but he felt his eyes probably betrayed his true feelings.

Before he could say anything, though, Ali sighed. "Look, I... don't know if you've ever courted another female longneck before, but you're not the first male suitor I've ever had."

Little Foot blinked. "Really? You mean, there was another?"

Ali nodded. "His name was Rhett. You see, a few seasons ago, our herd joined up with another herd who called themselves The Wanderers. Their leader had been killed by sharptooth just before they met up with us, and nobody from their herd really took over as the new leader; so they wandered aimlessly without direction. The Old One took pity on them, and invited them to join us, which they accepted immediately.

"Rhett became my friend while I was still young. We played together often; mostly just 'Rescue', which was his favourite game." Ali let loose a small laugh. "Then, when he came of age, he took over as unofficial leader of his own herd. That's when he began his courtship with me. He tried to be nice to me... tried to... 'shower' me with gifts. Confessed his love to me, and everything; but I thought he was too arrogant, too boastful. Then, when he asked me to become his life mate, I turned him down. I didn't want to hurt him. I knew I'd break his heart, when I told him I wasn't interested; but I felt I had no choice." Her eyes became moist as she relayed her last bit. Little Foot was afraid that she'd cry, but she didn't.

"A short time after that, Rhett decided to separate his herd from ours, and begin wandering again. It was a tough decision, at the time; because a lot of the longnecks from his herd had become mates with some members of my herd, and vice versa. We lost some members of our herd to his; but at the same time, we gained some members, when each mate decided which herd they wanted to go or stay with. For the longest while, I blamed myself for him leaving and taking his followers with him; but I eventually got over it. Then mom died, and I suddenly became Herd Leader."

"And that's when your loneliness began..."

"Yes." Ali replied sadly.

Little Foot lowered his head, closed his eyes and sighed. "Look, Ali, I'm sorry if I acted out of line. But... I thought about you a whole lot... ever since that day your herd came into our valley, all those seasons ago; and we went looking for the night flowers that would cure my grandfather. And when I came of age, I often imagined what you'd look like as a grown up female. How beautiful you'd look, and everything...

"But when I saw you at the canyon entrance, you took my breath away!" He forced himself to look her in the eye. "You're even more beautiful than in my dreams, Ali. And that's the truth!"

Ali smiled and blushed.

"And in my dreams, I saw us lying in a field just like this... Us facing each other much like we are facing each other now... our favourite food on the ground between us... Only instead of sweet bubbles, it was tree stars..."

They both shared a laugh.

"And that's when I would ask you: Will you be my life mate?"

"Then what happened?"

"I don't know... I always woke up at that point."

"Sooo... Does this mean that you're asking me to be your life mate?"

Little Foot laughed nervously. "Uhh... Yeah! I... I guess I am..." He forced himself to smile, though he felt quite awkward. "But... you don't have to answer now!" He quickly continued. "And... I'll understand if you say you don't want me..."

"Who said I didn't want you?" Ali asked rhetorically. "You see, I often thought about you, as well. And when _I _came of age, I've often imagined what it would be like if we were life mates. And I've dreamed about this exact same field. Nobody around but me and you, and you were looking so big and strong..." She gazed up at him. "Kind of like the way you are now. And you'd treat me with the utmost kindness. Then you'd pop the question, and I would always say 'yes'."

"So... does this mean that your answer is 'yes'?"

In response, she reached out and kissed him on his lips. "What do you think?"

He was momentarily stunned by the kiss she just gave him. When he regained his composure, he kissed her back. Ali let herself be enveloped by Little Foot's touch, as they continued kissing each other passionately. All time seemed to stop for both of them as their most intimate dreams suddenly came true.


	7. Chapter 6 Admission

**CHAPTER 6**

**ADMISSION**

Meanwhile, in another part of the valley, Petrie and Ducky were busy fixing up Petrie's nest with new sticks and branches. A flyer's nest often required maintenance, because of the abundant sky water that often fell in the valley, as well as the bright circle drying up the sticks and branches, making them brittle and easily breakable. Though Petrie chose to build his nest under a hanging rock, and it was reasonably well protected, he spent most days rebuilding it and maintaining it.

"WHEW! That hard work!" he would tell Ducky. "Thanks for help. Me NEVER get done if you not help today."

"Anytime, Petrie!"

Then they both collapsed with a sigh in the nest. Ducky placed her arm around his shoulders, and Petrie wrapped a wing around Ducky and leaned his head against her shoulder. Ducky seemed to be savouring this moment and enjoying the intimate closeness they both shared.

"Me no know what me do without you."

Ducky giggled. "You would probably be miserable and lonely. Yep, yep, yep!"

"Me no know about 'lonely', but me SURELY be 'miserable' without you."

After sitting there silently for a few minutes, Ducky got the courage to ask Petrie what she's been wanting to ask him all afternoon.

"Petrie?"

"Hmmm?"

"There is something I wanted to ask you..."

"What?"

"Actually, I..." She couldn't hold herself back any longer. She reached out and kissed him on his beak.

Petrie went wide eyed in surprise. "MMMBL! DUCKY, WHAT YOU DOING!"

Ducky placed her hands on her cheeks in shock as she realized what she's done. "OH! NO, NO, NOOOO! I cannot believe I did what I just dideded!"

Petrie tentatively approached Ducky. "Uhh... Ducky? What going on?"

Ducky sighed. "I am sorry if I scarededed you, Petrie. It's just that... I cannot hide my feelings any longer! I can't! I can't! I love you, Petrie!"

Petrie was taken aback by what Ducky just blurted out. It took a few moments before regaining his composure and gaining enough courage to approach the visibly horrified Ducky. "You... you... LOVE... Petrie?"

Ducky slumped down on the floor of the cave and sadly nodded.

"But... how that be? You swimmer, and me flyer! How you love me when I be flyer!"

Ducky sighed again. "I do not know, Petrie! I don't! I don't! When I reached my femalehood, it seemededed that I could not stop thinking of you. Then I remember my mother saying how she and dad were the bestest of friends, and how she said that the best mate you can have is your best friend. That's when I realizededed that... maybe... I could become life mates with you, because WE are best friends; despite us being different kinds of flattooth."

"But... what about male swimmer who court you! Don't he love you?"

Ducky sighed sadly. "He decided that I wasn't the right female for him and called off his courtship two days ago."

"Oh... Me so sorry."

Ducky sighed again. "You probably feel revolteded now after that _kiss_ I just gave you." she sadly said as she hugged herself and turned away.

Petrie started feeling her sadness as he heard her sniffling. He closed his eyes and sighed. "A...actually, it felt _good._"

Ducky was surprised by what Petrie just said. She immediately turned around to face him. "Y... you mean... you actually _liked_ that kiss?"

Petrie thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah... I guess..."

"Then... would you mind if I... kissed you again?"

"Petrie no mind!" he smiled.

Ducky smiled back and indulged in another kiss on Petrie's beak. She couldn't seem to pull away. Neither did Petrie, for that matter. He wrapped his wings around her and laid her down inside his nest. When they finally _did_ release themselves from the kiss, they held each other tenderly, savouring the moment.

"Who'd've thought: The two of us becoming life mates! Yep, yep, YEP!"

"That good! Me no think me meet flyer quite like YOU!"

"I can't wait to tell EVERYONE!"

"What! OOOOHHH... Me no think that such good idea, Ducky!"

"AAAAWWW... Why not!"

"Residents of Great Valley might not like idea of us being life mates, because we so _different!_"

"Little Foot would not see it that way! No, no, NOOO!"

"Maybe not Little Foot, but other residents not share his ideals."

Ducky thought it over, then nodded. "Okay... I won't tell anybody else but Little Foot. Deal?"

Petrie nodded. "Deal for only telling Little Foot."

Ducky cried out in joy and hugged him. "That's my Petrie! Yep, yep, YEP!"

Then they shared another long passionate kiss in each other's embrace.

Ducky would end up sleeping over in Petrie's nest that night. They both fell alseep with Petrie's wings wrapped around Ducky, and Ducky's arms encircled around his neck.


	8. Chapter 7 Controvertial Mating Ceremony

**CHAPTER 7**

**CONTROVERTIAL MATING CEREMONY**

It was barely a week after this went on that the whole valley knew what was going on between Petrie and Ducky. Though Ducky kept her promise to tell no one but Little Foot of their mateship, speculation and rumours began to spread quickly. At first, Little Foot thought that what Ducky told her was a joke; but after he saw that she was serious, he was quite surprised by this revelation from his lifelong friend.

The three of them talked long and hard about the feelings the two of them shared, then Little Foot realized that it was only logical, as they had always been close friends. In ancient times, a Head Councilor like him would've banished the inter species couple clear out of the flattooth lands, but the more open minded Little Foot would never even _dream_ of doing that to his two lifelong friends.

Most of the residents of the valley, however, saw it differently. In their minds, Petrie and Ducky were committing the ultimate sin. Something that was unforgivable! And if Little Foot had any common sense, he would put an end to this right now! And if they absolutely refused to separate, he should banish them out of The Great Valley forever.

Almost everyone in the valley either looked down upon them, shunned them, or walked away whenever they were near. Because of this, Ducky was visibly depressed and worried; and Petrie was visibly sad and nervous. Only their closest friends still talked to them, and they both relied on their support through the ensuing chaos, for they were an unusual pairing, indeed!

Chomper was quite shocked when he first heard of their pairing, but he felt it was only natural, based on what happened between he and Cera back in the sharptooth lands those few seasons ago. Cera herself sympathized with her two lifelong friends, but still thought it was a bad idea to start such a long term relationship between two clearly distinct species. She even said that, in her own medical opinion, they could never make eggs, as they were too different. Petrie and Ducky simply ignored her. Roary scratched his head for a bit, but seemed quite indifferent about it. V'Leck just laughed herself silly and said that such a pairing could not last. Eventually, they would have to separate, as the pressure would end up being too great; and that they'd be better off finding mates of their own kind afterwards.

At the same time, though, everyone in the valley was overjoyed at the news that Little Foot and Ali became life mates themselves. The Land of Mists longnecks saw this with a sense of hope, as this would further ensure their permanent residency in The Great Valley of Peace. With this new pairing, their herd would become one with The Great Valley longnecks; which was great for them, as they had grown accustomed to life in The Great Valley. And there was no shortage of congratulations and well wishes from most of the Great Valley residents to the happy newly joined couple.

A few days later, Petrie and Ducky asked Little Foot to officially bless their union. It didn't take long for Little Foot to happily agree to their request. Besides, after seeing the way they acted towards each other, he knew that it was love; for he felt the same way towards Ali. He knew that their union would last, so he didn't hesitate to say that he would be more than happy to give them his blessing.

He set the date of the ceremony on a day where the Council wouldn't be in session. Knowing the very controvertial nature of it all, he didn't want anybody who didn't want to be at the Council meeting place to actually be there. But, as a courtesy, he announced an open invitation to everyone who wanted to attend. Almost all of the Great Valley residents simply thumbed their noses at the "abomination blessing". Some even spat on the ground as they angrily walked away!

On the appointed day, only the closest friends and family of both Petrie and Ducky showed up. Well,_ almost _everybody. Petrie's only surviving brother who lived out in The Mysterious Beyond didn't even bother to come, though a flyer was sent to find him to give him the news and extend the invitation. Petrie was quite upset and disappointed when the flyer came back saying that he "didn't want any part of his idiot brother's biggest mistake of his life!"

When all was set, Little Foot began the ceremony. The days were getting colder, and the green colour was starting to disappear on some of the leaves on the trees. A cold time was on its way for sure!

He motioned the couple forward up to the speaking rock altar where he was standing. They were both wearing the sharptooth bone necklaces they were given back in the sharptooth lands, and Ducky was wearing a garland of pink flowers around her left ankle. She was also carrying a bouquet of the same flowers in her hands. Being a two footer, she could do that. Everyone also noticed that Ali was wearing a necklace of the exact same flowers around her neck, and they could easily guess why she was wearing it.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bear witness to the official blessing of the mateship between this male and this female. As controvertial and 'taboo' as this union seems to be to some, a wise old flattooth once said: If you are to select a life mate for yourself, let that life mate be your best friend. Having known these two all of my life, I can say with absolute certainty that they are, in fact, the best of friends." Little Foot smiled down at them. Petrie and Ducky weighed on his every word. They knew that he would try to convince everybody that their union was a just and righteous union.

"That same wise flattooth also said: Love is the strongest force there is. And watching how these two look at each other, and treat each other, I can tell that they are in love!" He smiled down at them again. They both returned his smile.

Little Foot sighed. "And, as tradition dictates, I have to ask: If there are ANY here who feel that these two should not remain mates, let them speak now, or forever hold your piece!"

Seeing as only their closest friends were gathered, nobody actually opposed their union.

But V'Leck voiced her opinion in her native sharptooth. _"Although I'm not going to stop these two from being mates, I'm going to say, for the record, that I find it's a shame that these two should choose to live the rest of their lives this way when there are plenty of mates of their own kinds to choose from, as it SHOULD be!"_

Chomper provided the translation for everyone. Little Foot nodded to V'Leck. "Your opinion has been duely noted, V'Leck. Is there anybody else who would like to speak up?"

Cera spoke next. "Well I, neither, won't stand in the way of their blessing; but I personally don't think it's right, especially when it comes to making eggs and having babies."

"But it hasn't really been proven that flyers and swimmers CAN'T have babies together!" Wendyk said.

"Humpf! I'll believe it when I see it!" Cera answered.

"But they haven't actually said that they wanted to have babies. Males and females can be life mates together, and not have babies. Look at the two of you!" Chomper said.

"Well... I'm just saying... if ever they DID decide to have babies..." Cera retorted weakly.

Chomper smiled. _So much like her father! _He thought to himself. _Though she may not be aware of it._

Little Foot nodded. "Thank you Cera and Chomper. Is there anybody ELSE who would like to speak!"

After a few moments of silence, Little Foot spoke again. "Good! Please come forward." he motioned to the two of them.

They stepped up to the altar, their bone necklaces making their usual sounds as they moved.

"Do you, Alaina, take this male to be your life mate to love, honour and cherish; for better or worse; for good times or bad times; for prosperity and destitution; in sickness and in health; for as long as you both shall live?"

Ducky nodded. "I do."

"And do you, Petrie, take this female to be your life mate to love, honour and cherish; for better or worse; for good times or bad times; for prosperity and destitution; in sickness and in health; for as long as you both shall live?"

Petrie nodded. "I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me, in The Great Valley, and in all of the flattooth lands, I hereby officially bless you as life mates."

He bent down and tapped them both on their foreheads with his chin.

"You may now kiss your mate."

Ducky and Petrie shared a small intimate kiss between them, which brought about a small smattering of polite applause. Ducky threw the bouquet of flowers behind her. Everybody scrambled for it, but it ended up being caught by Trinity, Wendyk's younger sister. Everybody around her smiled and applauded her for her nice catch.

Once the applause and cheering died down, Little Foot spoke again. "And that concludes this wonderful blessing ceremony!" He then motioned for them to return to their place among their friends. More applause were heard as they regained their spots and received congratulations from those around them.

"And now, I think it's only fitting that, on this occasion, I somehow bless my own mateship here today! It's no secret to any of you now that myself and Ali, Leader of the Longneck Herd of The Land of Mists, have become life mates, and that is..."

He was interrupted by some applause coming from his friends.

"... And that is why I invited her here today. And that is also why she is wearing this garland of pretty pink flowers around her neck."

This brought forth fits of laughter from those in attendance.

"On this occasion, though, since there's no one else to officially bless our union, we've decided to bless it ourselves in the form of our own vows..."

He then turned to his new life mate. "Ali?" he said to her as her cue to walk up to him. They both stood facing each other in front of the speaking rock.

"I'll begin..." he said to everyone as he cleared his throat, then faced Allie, who smiled up at him, as she was slightly smaller than he was. "My dearest Ali, from the moment I met you, way back when we were young, I knew that we had a special connection. Even when you left The Great Valley with your herd shortly after, I knew, in my heart, that we would remain very special friends, no matter how far apart we were. Although we grew up apart, we remained close together in both our minds and our hearts. The promise you gave to me, just before you left, that we would see each other again, never seemed more real to me than that day you and your herd showed up again at the threshold of The Canyon Entrance to The Great Valley.

"And it was while we were lying together in the field that day that I realized that it was meant to be! We were made for each other! My dearest Ali, my love, my heart, if you will have me, I promise you that I will be caring, faithful, helpful, and considerate. Our union will join our two herds together, and they will become one. You and your followers will become permanent members of The Great Flattooth Herd of The Great Valley of Peace. So I ask you, in all honesty: Will you have me?"

Ali never took her eyes off of Little Foot as she said. "I will... I will... I will..."

Ali then said her own vows. "My dearest Little Foot, when I met you for the first time, I knew right away that you were a very special longneck. Especially with all the friends you had. I thought you were bright, funny... and charming... qualities I never expected to find in a longneck.

"When we went on that adventure into The Land of Mists in search of the night flowers that would save your grandfather's life, I never expected you to be so helpful to me. If it weren't for you, I don't think I ever would've survived that journey.

"Even when my herd left The Great Valley all those seasons ago, you were always with me in my heart, my mind, and in my dreams. Growing up, I've often imagined that it would be like if we were always together, looking out for each other, caring for each other. Wanting to see you again was the main reason why I brought my herd here to The Great Valley.

"In the field that day, that was where and when I realized that my love for you was real, and not just some female longneck's foolish fantasy. Being here today with you, sharing this moment, is literally my biggest dream come true!

"My dearest Little Foot, if you will have me, I promise you that I shall be a loving, caring and faithful female to you. I shall look after you, if ever you get sick. I shall comfort you, whenever you're feeling down. I shall be nurturing to any children I may bear for you in the future. This I vow to you, on my most sacred honour as Leader of The Longneck Herd of The Land of Mists. So I ask you, in all honesty: Will you have me?

Little Foot smiled the brightest smile he could give to her as he said. "I will... I will... I will..."

They stood there mesmerized in each other's gaze for a few moment before Little Foot looked up to the sky. "What's that, grampa! You say: I may kiss my mate!"

This brought about hearty laughter from their gathered friends, and a hearty giggle from Allie.

Little Foot's friends cheered, applauded and threw pink flower petals in the air as the two longnecks shared a long, passionate kiss between them. Amidst all the cheering, Petrie could be heard sobbing. He always cried at mating ceremonies! It was unmissable! Ducky just embraced him comfortingly as the cheering and merriment continued for what seemed like an eternity.

A short time later, they were all gathered around the feast that they had prepared as an improvized mating ceremony "reception". The bright circle was low in the sky, and there was a crisp chill in the air. Everybody's breath could be seen whenever they spoke or breathed.

There wasn't a lot of pleasant conversation among them. There were many long moments of silence as everybody picked at their food in front of them. Most of them had long looks on their faces, mostly because none of the other residents of The Great Valley wanted to join them for their feast.

"Shards!" Roary exclaimed. "I've seen more excitement at a FUNERAL!"

_Amazing!_ Little Foot thought to himself. _Roary's really improved in his flattooth language skills. I'm impressed! _He allowed himself to smile.

"Well, what can you DO, son!" Chomper said rhetorically. "Nobody else cared enough to wanna witness Petrie and Ducky's mateship blessing. Or share in the 'merriment'." He picked up a squirming grub from the leaf tray in front of him and dropped it in his mouth.

"Humpf! BIIIG surprise!" Cera said in a sarcastic tone.

"_You're tellin' ME!"_ V'Leck said. Though she began to understand flattooth talk quite well now, she still had problems speaking it. Chomper didn't bother translating. Everybody pretty much guessed what she said.

Trinity spoke up. "Well, I think we can get in a few games of Swimmer and Splasher before the bright circle disappears over the horizon. Come on, Roary!" She said as she got and started dragging Roary towards the nearby river.

Roary groaned and whined. "But it won't be fun just the two of us!"

"Do not worry, me and Petrie will join you!" Ducky said as she got up to follow. "I have not played Swimmer and Splasher in seasons, but I was GREAT at it, when I was little. Yep, yep, YEP!" She grabbed Petrie by his wing hand as they raced with Trinity and Roary to the river.

All the rest of the gang were smiling as they watched the young, and young at heart, jump into the river and splash about.

"Cold time will be coming soon." Little Foot said as he shivered slightly from the chill in the air.

"I can't wait!" Ali said. "Then you can show me those frozen sweet bubbles you've been talking about."

Little Foot gazed at her and smiled as he allowed his smiling mate to give her an affectionate rub of his cheek.

As the bright circle was setting, everybody said their goodbyes as they headed home.


	9. Conclusion Repercussions

**CONCLUSION**

**REPERCUSSIONS**

It was twilight by the time Petrie and Ducky arrived at his nest. They gasped in shock when they saw what was waiting for them. The nest was wrecked! The branches and twigs they had so neatly arranged in the circle shape earlier that day were strewn about and tossed everywhere, and mud was thrown into the nest itself, on the floor and walls of the hanging rock it was under.

"Who would DO this?" Ducky asked in horror.

Petrie sighed sadly. "Somebody who not like us being mates, THAT who!"

"I do not like this! No, no, NOOOO!" Ducky whined almost to the point of tears.

Petrie simply closed his eyes and stifled his tears. "What we do NOW?" he asked his mate.

"Well, we cannot leave the nest here the way it is! We can't! We can't! We will have to move it someplace else."

"Where?"

Ducky pondered that for a bit. Her face lit up when she thought of a good place. "I know! We will move it to The Secret Caverns! Nobody's going to come wreck the nest THERE! Yep, yep, YEP!"

"Secret Caverns?" Petrie smiled. "YEAH... That be GREAT place to rebuild nest!"

Then they busied themselves in gathering up the branches and twigs that were salvageable, and brought them over to The Secret Caverns, located a short distance away. Though Ducky was almost as large as Petrie, he had grown strong enough to be able to carry Ducky on his back, as well as her armload of nest building materials. He even carried his own bunch of branches and twigs in his feet as he flew over to the location of The Secret Caverns.

They may not be able to reassemble the nest completely before they turned in for the night, but they could "rough it" for one night without any problems. They would have to complain tomorrow to Little Foot about what happened. But without any evidence or proof as to who did it, Little Foot cannot punish anybody for the crime! Whoever did it would get away with the crime until some kind of proof could be obtained!

Later on that night, while Ducky fell asleep wrapped in Petrie's wing embrace, he stayed up worrying about the future for he and his life mate. Everywhere they turned, there would be somebody who would look down upon them, wish them harm, or spit at them, simply because they fell in love. This made Petrie very sad! Eventually, he fell into an uneasy sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day for him and Ducky in The Great Valley.


End file.
